[LouGehrig]

Originally Posted by Zen653

The Red Sox are now 2.5 games up in the division, with 10 to play. For all practical purposes, it's a 1.5 game lead because the Yankees won the season series and therefore own the tie-breaker. Boston is 1-4 over its last 5 games.

The Red Sox are showing a lot of arrogance right now. They're benching Manny Ramirez even though he's been taking batting practice for a full week. They're juggling their pitching rotation for a playoff spot they haven't clinched. They're resting perfectly healthy players like Papelbon, Buchholz and Kielty, while overplaying struggling stiffs like J.D Drew. They're removing starting pitchers early, even when they have low pitch counts and are mowing down the opposing hitters. They're grossly mismanaging the bullpen in order to boost Gagne's confidence, even at the expense of victories.

Take tonight, for example. The Red Sox were leading 2-1 heading into the 8th inning. The struggling Eric Gagne came in and got two quick outs. Then he slowly lost control. He couldn't throw his fastball for strikes. He couldn't fool the Toronto batters. He just couldn't get that final out. Meanwhile, the Yankees were beating up on the Orioles 12-0, and Papelbon, warming up on 3 full days of rest, remained in the bullpen. Gagne proceeded to walk 3 batters and give up 3 runs, escaping the inning only because of an outfield assist that cut down the third runner at the plate. What was Francona's post-game explanation for why he stayed with Gagne over a well-rested Papelbon? "We need Gagne to be dominant." Really? Even at the expense of a winnable game when your chief rival is nipping at your neck?

Boston doesn't deserve to win the division. The team obviously doesn't care about exorcising old demons and delivering a division title to its fans for the first time in 12 years. Otherwise the club would take these September games a lot more seriously, and actually make an effort to win them. It's 1978 all over again, only this time, the team is utterly apathetic when it comes to surrendering a 14.5 game lead. The complacency disgusts me.

Francona might as well forfeit the final 10 games. Give the guys some rest from travel.

What a great post. You state it magnificently. Imagine if only the division winner could make the playoffs.

How about the integrity of the game?